Thursday, 19 December 2013

As we head towards Christmas festivities and the end of
the calendar year, it seems appropriate to write a short message.

2013 seems to be the year that divided business in more
ways than one.

Yes, it sorted the vulnerable from the strong.

For some, 2013 has been very tough. Maybe too tough.

For others, 2013 has been a great year. They've never had
it so good.

For all of us it has been a year when we have experienced
and learnt a lot. A lot more than usual.

This is because of the ever-increasing rate of change
coming from the always-open, internet-obsessed world that most of us
now live in. People want more, more, more and faster, faster, faster
while also wanting to improve the quality of their lives. A series of
contradictions indeed.

In this new reflective piece I highlight the comments from a number of
accountants who agree with me and celebrate their competitive advantage
over accountants who don't take marketing seriously.

Top 5 Business Club
Worksheets Of 2013
I recently took a look through the Business Club's website visitor
statistics and found that these five worksheets were the most popular
with our subscribers.

The worksheets cover pricing, marketing, selling and customer research
and are quick actions and exercises you can do to see how your business
is performing and to identify areas where you can make quick
improvements.

Maybe the title should have read 'most accountants' or 'some accountants', but obvious not 'all accountants'.

Re-reading the article, it is really rather good. Yes, I precipitated the debate but after that I am innocent. This is not about me but about the opportunities that are available to some/most accountants if they could become more customer-focused and think a little bit more about how they present themselves and what they offer their clients (their marketing).

A couple of key points:

a poor understanding of marketing and business development could be leading to overly negative advice being given to clients

a general lack of proactivity in the industry provides an opportunity

many excellent professional-services organisations have no idea of what they don’t know.

time-sellers should wake up and smell the coffee and start to sell results

'Poor grasp' of marketing and business development could lead to poor advice for small companies, entrepreneurs fear.

Accountants have a poor understanding of marketing and business development, which could be leading to overly negative advice being given to their clients.

Robert Craven: “The majority [of accountants I speak to] are only interested in battening down the hatches and hoping that they can survive without too much pain.”

Robert Craven: many accountancy firms have cut or frozen their marketing budgets in response to the recession, but haven’t switched to more cost-effective forms of lead generation now. He said many firms were showing “no interest” in winning new business.

Robert Craven: “One accountant said, ‘I can tell you that marketing doesn’t work for us sowe try not to do any’.”

Peter Lashmar: “We are delighted that the majority of the accountancy profession does not know about or bother with effective marketing as it enables us to grow significantly each year without any real effort or cost.”

Jeremy Thorn: “I am consistently fascinated how so many excellent professional-services organisations see marketing, management development and organisational development, or even wider business strategy and business development, as being so readily within their undoubted intellectual grasp that they have no idea of what they don’t know.”

Julian Rowe: “These accountants are no doubt currently acting as advisers to many clients who count on them for advice”.

Some members suggested the attitude of accountants towards their own sales and marketing budgets had led to unnecessarily aggressive cost-cutting advice being given to business owners in some cases.

Professional services companies often try to position themselves as proactive business advisers, but business owners said this didn’t sit well with the reactive, “time-selling” approach they take to winning new business.

Mr Craven said: “It is time that many of these time-sellers wake up and smell the coffee and start to sell results.”

Monday, 16 December 2013

Having received several Christmas Greeting videos from various accountants I thought they should be shared with the world (along with a few others I have found). I know which is the best (and the worst) but what do you think? Is it time for a competition?Some are simply dreadful (according to certain members of the team here). And some are great. Can you figure out which is which?There is a serious point.

What is the message behind these videos???

What do they tell us about the sort of practice that decides to make them and send them out?

I spent last
week in the company of an exclusive set of MDs of growing businesses. While the
agenda was specifically around growth, profit and sales, the real issue was
around prioritising, decision-making and quality of life.

In the words
of one of this group of highly successful entrepreneurs, “If I am brutally
honest with myself then I have to confess that business success and wealth
doesn’t really seem to have made me happier.” An honest man. And after a rather
expensive meal with rather expensive wine everyone opened up and confessed that
things weren’t as rosy as they appeared.

In the cold
light of day, hangover and all, the group were up for confronting these issues
head on.

A no-nonsense
approach was required. If they can design, set up and grow these great
businesses then shouldn’t it be possible to do the same for their personal
lives?

How
complicated can it be? Be clear about what you want… Where are you now?

Where are you going? Where do you want to be? How are you going to get
there? Stop p***ing about! Take massive
bloody action. End of.

A Shock To The System: Your Funeral

“If you were to die right now what would
people say about you at your funeral?”
What they say (good, bad, indifferent) is simply a consequence of how
you have been living your life. So, to figure out how you would really like to
live your life, write down what it is that you would want people (your partner,
children, friends, work colleagues) to say about you… at your funeral.

A Simple Exercise

Write down
where you would like to be in three years’ time. Take a blank A4 sheet of paper
and create a three-by-three matrix where the columns represent ‘your business’,
‘your career’ and ‘your private life’.
The rows are titled “In three years”, “In one year” and “Right now”. In each
of the nine boxes, write down, say, five clearly defined and measurable goals
for where you want to be in your business/career/private life (in three years,
one year and right now).

Making It Happen

Most of us
‘get away with murder’ in our business and private lives; we aren’t accountable
to anyone. We can choose goals and ignore them at will.

So, take an
hour out of your busy (fool) schedule. Sit down with a blank sheet of paper and
do the hard work. Sort out what is really important in your life. As I say, the
principle is simple: look at where you are now and make the tough decisions (=
trade-offs). Decide your goals and be prepared to pay the price.

Next, take
massive action. You will be measured by your actions. Be clear about what is
most important to you. Focus on it. What is your over-arching goal for the next
week? And for the next month?

Look for the
most appropriate way to make this happen. Depending on your preference, you can
go for the DIY option or get yourself a coach/mentor or sign up to a mastermind
group.

Whatever you go for make sure that you are accountable for your actions to
someone; this will help you take the necessary steps.

Stop messing
about. You never know when the funeral speeches will be required.

Sunday, 15 December 2013

2014 will be the year that everything and nothing changes. It will be a year of contradictions… of opposites:

Everything will be the same but nothing will be the same

We will be even more closely connected yet less connected at the same time

We will become even closer but even more lonely

It may even be the year that social media gets exhausted

Everything will go faster but slower

We will want everything faster but we will want things slower.

That's what I think and that's what some of the top lists on the internet suggest...

Top trends for 2014 will include:

1 The Digital Stuff

Your digital footprint will be your most valuable assetCustomers talk and now they talk more than ever – what others say about you will be more important than what you say (advertising is dying). Natives naturally check out who says what about you and compare it with what you say and how you say it.

More, more, more Customers will want/demand/expect more of a 360 degree experience – more of everything… an immersive experience. 3D is better than 2D, 4HD is better than HD… we will be expecting smell, taste, sound. Not just products.Faster, faster, hyper-fast. Living in what Mack calls “the age of impatience”, customers expect more, faster and more conveniently than ever before. The consequence of this is that we become more impulsive – the logical extension of going faster.

Shoot ‘n’ GoPictures will replace 1,000 words.Still and moving pictures will become their own currency. Everyone can shoot/edit/publish/distribute their own experiences, friends… in fact, anything that can stand in front of a smartphone will be shot. Everything will become increasingly visual: websites, adverts, communication.

Mobile technology changes everything Especially in emerging economies – it gives you access to health care, education, finance. It knows no boundaries. In the first world, nothing will be safe: everything can be (and probably will be) disrupted. Nothing is sacred. There will be an app for everything!2 The ANTI-DIGITAL STUFF (in a kind of digital way)Customer is KingThe customer experience will become the new competitive battlefieldWe will get one step closer to the idea that the customer is king. Companies that offer the basics (courtesy, speed, warmth, friendliness) and provide legendary service will be the winners in the long run.

Revenge of the LudditesAs a reaction to too many people literally living through their smartphone we might find the emergence of smartphone-free zones both socially and at work. It is time to get back to old-fashioned ways of communicating and connecting, like sharing a nice cup of tea or a walk in the countryside.

A Campaign for RealThere will be an increased sensitivity that will seek to differentiate between the authentic and genuine as opposed to the manufactured, synthetic, superficial and fake: food, TV, music, people, etc.Being Mindful As a backlash to the hyper-fast world we now live in there will be a growing interest (probably an obsession) with all things peaceful, quiet and reflective.

Thursday, 12 December 2013

Time zaps by. Another year.Meantime we miss catch-ups and casual meetings and lose touch. Suddenly you realise some people still know you for what you were doing a few years ago. But some things have changed. So it seems like a great time to tell you what's going on here and what I am doing.In brief, common sense, uncommon business experience and unique business building credentials combine to help our clients grow their businesses.BRIGHT MARKETING ACADEMYA brilliant 14-part learning programme, Videos, workbooks and worksheets to help you increase sales, customer numbers and profitability.DIRECTORS' CENTRE BUSINESS CLUBOur subscription-based online learning centre gives you monthly updates, articles and videos to help you grow your business.DIRECTORS' CENTRE BUSINESS CONSULTANCYYou can work with our team of expert business to grow your business.Free of waffle and focusing and what needs to be done to improve your business. Where experience meets analytical skills to produce resultsBOOKSWith six books 'in the can', this year has seen a focus on the latest two:

Customer is King (Virgin, 2013)(updated Kindle Edition with Foreword by Sir Richard Branson)

SPEAKINGI’ve been a professional speaker for over 10 years I love it; it gives me the opportunity to really connect, help and work with audiences. It is always fresh.

I have recently come back from a mini-tour in Iran to discover that I am now flattered to be a Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association on top of being UK's #1 Business Speaker of 2013 (SpeakerMix).ROBERT CRAVEN/BRIGHT MARKETING BLOGI post comments and latest thoughts weekly. The subject is always about how to run better and more effective businesses.No shortage of activity but always the same basic formula:

a free of nonsense approach to growing your business

a unique blend of academic/author credentials, common sense, uncommon business experience and analytical skills.

I'd love to know what you are up to. Contact me direct on rc@directorscentre.com

This way people then know exactly what you do and, by the time you
finish, are already thinking of businesses that may need your help.

Competition Time
Email us your one-minute intro and we will pick our favourites and
publish them on www.directorscentre.co.uk.
The winner will also receive a free copy of my book Grow
Your Service Firm. Just hit the reply button and write down
your one-minute intro!